Developers are constantly incorporating more and more features and technology into wireless telecommunication systems. In fact, wireless based phones have advanced tremendously in recent years. For example, wireless phones use a variety of digital modulation techniques, such as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). Regardless of modulation technique, wireless devices have a myriad of features, such as electronic phonebooks, speed dialing, single button voicemail access, and messaging capabilities. These are only a sample of features that are capable of, or have already been implemented into wireless devices. A particularly useful feature provides messaging capability between wireless devices. The Short Message Services (SMS) feature used in CDMA, for example, allows a user of one wireless device to transmit alphanumeric messages to another wireless device. To do so, a digital processing section within the mobile phone's hardware transmits, receives, and processes the SMS messages, which are typically alphanumeric display messages. However, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,301,484, service providers may also use SMS messages to remotely activate or update a mobile phone's software functions, such as voicemail, caller ID, and configuration settings. The general specification for SMS in CDMA can be found in Telecommunications Industry Association and Electronic Industries Association specification TIS/EIA/IS-637, SHORT MESSAGE SERVICES FOR WIDEBAND SPREAD SPECTRUM CELLULAR SYSTEMS. The general specification for the CDMA phone system can be found in TIA/EIA/IS-95, MOBILE STATION-BASE STATION COMPATIBILITY STANDARD FOR DUAL-MODE WIDEBAND SPREAD SPECTRUM CELLULAR SYSTEM. However, the implementation of SMS is not limited to CDMA.
Needless to say, given their increasing power and complexity, operating modern wireless telephones can be confusing if not difficult, especially for new, non-computer savvy, or disabled users. Some users have difficulty operating their mobile phones, even turning them on. Thus, it would be advantageous for a caregiver, such as a parent or guardian, to be able to temporarily and remotely activate, operate, configure, and view operations on a dependent's wireless telephone, using the caregiver's wireless telephone, to assist the dependent. This would be particularly useful when the caregiver is attempting to call the dependent, but the dependent has inadvertently turned off his phone or is having trouble operating it. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a system and method whereby a user of one wireless phone may control, operate, configure, and view the operations of a second wireless phone.